The Cleveland Cavaliers are opening the NBA season against the Chicago Bulls and LeBron James expects to be on the court alongside Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson for the Cavs. James had a back injection earlier in the month and after returning to practice, it's likely the star will play, although his status is not yet official for the game.
The Cavaliers are starting the season on the road against the Bulls and James appears on track to play after having an anti-inflammatory injection in his back a couple weeks ago. According to Ohio.com, James practiced for the first time in two weeks and that is "another obstacle" cleared as James prepares to try and play on Tuesday. James said that he will continue to prepare for games as he always has in his career and said that "if I'm capable of playing I'll play."
James received the injection on October 12 and he said to the Akron Beacon Journal that the treatment was planned "all along" this preseason. James said that he and coach David Blatt will talk about the situation on Monday before making a final decision about whether James will play or not. James has not missed a season opener in his career and he is hoping not to miss this one, as the Cavs already are down a couple players heading into the game.
Kyrie Irving is not expected to play and a timetable for his return from knee surgery is still not set in stone, while Iman Shumpert also will be out. Shumpert had wrist surgery and he is expected to be out for a couple more months while rehabbing the injury. Mo Williams likely will start in place of Irving and the Cavs are hoping to have their leader on the court as well in James. Kevin Love will be ready to go for the opener and it comes after the forward made his preseason debut last week.
Love was injured against the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs last season and he rehabbed from shoulder surgery over the summer for the Cavaliers. The team was cautious bringing Love back after signing him to a max contract extension and he made his debut in the preseason last week. Love was able to play in back to back games for the Cavs and that is a good sign for him playing a full slate of minutes in the opener.
The Cavaliers also will have Tristan Thompson ready to go for the opener and it comes after the big man waited until last week to sign a new contract. Thompson was a restricted free agent and was locked in a bit of a stalemate over a new deal, but the sides were able to agree and now Thompson has the chance to get on the floor for the Cavs. Jason Lloyd reports that Thompson may have some limited minutes in the opener after missing so much offseason time with the team, but that he will play on Tuesday.
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